USA Dot Com is a blog covering politics and government from a conservative Christian perspective. Verne Strickland is a 50-year veteran of investigative journalism. This blog offers a take-no-prisoners style with a modicum of biting satire. Verne and his wife of 55 years, Durrene, live in Wilmington, NC.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Mafia toxic waste dumping poisons Italy farmlands

Dec 20th 2013 6:12AM Verne Strickland / Blogmaster / Dec 22 2013

In
this Nov. 18, 2013 photo, rubbish is piled up on the edge of cultivated
land near Caivano, in the surroundings of Naples, southern Italy.
Dozens of fields in the area were sequestered by police, prohibiting any
one from harvesting or even setting foot on the plot. Decades of toxic
waste dumping by the Camorra crime syndicate that dominates the Naples
area poisoned wells, authorities have found in recent months, tainting
the water that irrigates crops with high levels of lead, arsenic and the
industrial solvent tetrachloride. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

CAIVANO, Italy (AP) - On Ciro Fusco's farm in the shadow of Mount
Vesuvius, police swooped down one recent day and planted a warning sign
in his broccoli fields, prohibiting any one from harvesting or even
setting foot on the plot. Dozens of other fields in the area were
sequestered in the same way. Decades of toxic waste dumping by the
Camorra crime syndicate that dominates the Naples area poisoned wells,
authorities have found in recent months, tainting the water that
irrigates crops with high levels of lead, arsenic and the industrial
solvent tetrachloride.

The warning came too late: Fusco had already sold some of his broccoli at nearby markets.

The
farmlands around Naples, authorities say, are contaminated from the
Mafia's multibillion-dollar racket in disposing toxic waste, mainly from
industries in the wealthy north that ask no questions about where the
garbage goes as long as it's taken off their hands - for a fraction of
the cost of legal disposal. The poisoning is triggering widespread fear
and outrage in the Naples area, and tens of thousands of people marched
through the city's chaotic streets last month demanding to know whether
they have been eating tainted vegetables for years.

In
an interview with The Associated Press, the head of the Naples
environmental police force rattled off a list of substances in higher
than permissible levels contaminating 13 irrigation wells on farmlands:
arsenic, cadmium, tin, beryllium and other metals; tetrachloride and
tolulene among other chemicals used as industrial solvents.

Gen.
Sergio Costa did not provide specific levels as tests were ongoing, but
described the amounts as reaching "dangerous" levels. On one farm in
Caivano, Costa said, four times the permissible level of lead was found
in the irrigation well's water. Cabbages irrigated by that water were
found to be contaminated with lead, although tomatoes irrigated with the
same well showed no harmful lead levels, said Costa - illustrating the
complexity of testing crops for toxicity. The wells are not used for
drinking water.

Analyses
of the vegetables are still being conducted, and Fusco was waiting to
learn if his family's farm's broccoli was tainted. Costa said the crops,
irrigated by wells later found to be contaminated, were sold only in
markets in the Naples area. Officials estimate that waste seepage from
one of the more notorious sites, a hill-like dump in the nearby farm
town of Giugliano, a short drive away, will keep poisoning the water for
half a century.

A
top Camorra boss, Francesco Bidognetti, was convicted last month of
poisoning the water table in the town of Gugliano with toxic waste and
received a 20-year sentence. It was by far the stiffest punishment yet
for waste dumping and a strong sign that the state is cracking down on
the lucrative racket. Much of the waste the Camorra has trafficked has
come from factories, processing plants and hospitals, mainly trucked
down from in Italy's industrial north to the mobsters' power base near
Naples and Caserta.

Some
of the waste was buried under a soccer field in Casal di Principe, the
stronghold of the Casalesi crime clan that dominates the illicit
business, along with a few other families. Naples-based anti-Mafia
Prosecutor Giovanni Conzo said in an interview that waste was also
buried under a water-skiing pool in the town of Castel Volturno, near
the sea.

Camorristi
"poisoned their own territory, they poisoned their own blood," said
Costa, the Naples environmental police force chief.

According
to a nationwide environmentalist group, Legambiente, Camorra mobsters
since 1991 have systematically dumped, burned or buried nearly 10
million tons of waste, almost all of it coming from factories that
either don't seek to know where the waste ends up or are complicit in
the crimes. According to evidence used in trials, the waste contained
PCBs, asbestos, industrial sludge and metal drums filled with dangerous
solvents used to make paint.

"How could this all happen?" Michele Buonomo, Legambiente's Naples-area president, said in an interview.

It
wasn't just the Camorra profiting off the waste racket, he said in an
AP interview: In Italy's industrial north, factories and processing
plants saved at least half the cost of the going rate of legitimate
waste disposal or detoxification. Companies falsified documentation
identifying the wastes' content, said the national anti-Mafia
prosecutor. In the Camorra's power base, he added, town officials, dump
operators or farmers with vacant land closed an eye for their own
payoff.

Roberti
said the first Camorra turncoat to reveal the business of waste
trafficking told him in interrogations that "monnezza" - Neapolitan for
garbage - was, in effect, worth its weight in gold.

Investigators'
first big break came in 2007, nearly 20 years after the mobsters
started trafficking in wastes. Turncoat Gaetano Vassallo, from the
Casalesi clan, gave prosecutors a "very complete picture" about the
racket, Roberti recalled. He told them where waste had been dumped and
buried. And he indicated which companies, mainly in Italy's north, were
turning to the Camorra to cart away waste.

Vassallo's
tips were borne out when investigators, using backhoes and shovels, dug
into the sprawling Giugliano dump. Exhaustive analyses of soil samples
by a geologist in a two-year study, whose results were made public this
fall, found many of the cancer-causing or otherwise harmful substances
exactly where the turncoat said Bidognetti had them dumped over several
years. Some of the waste trafficked by Bidognetti allegedly came from a
major dye-manufacturing plant in the northwest Piedmont region, which
was eventually shut down after Piedmont residents grew alarmed when
local rivers were colored with the factory's runoff.

Geologist
Giovanni Balestri's study, commissioned by Naples-based anti-Mafia
prosecutors, of soil and aquifers contaminated by the dump found a
laundry lists of substances similar to those discovered around the
Caivano farms: Chromium, lead, nickel, sulfates, toluene and other
substances - all in concentrations higher than, often far exceeding,
permissible levels.

Costa
said the vegetables irrigated by water from contaminated wells was
destined for local markets, not supermarkets - whose strict quality
standards, backed up by spot-checks, would virtually eliminate the
possibility of any tainted produce from reaching tables beyond the
Camorra's backyard.

Italy's
agriculture minister last month hastened to assure consumers that
testing of the produce is continuing "non-stop." Nunzia De Girolamo was
referring to a strategy devised by Costa: Since much of the waste seeps
down to aquifers, which feed irrigation wells, his squad is analyzing
the water of each well supplied by the contaminated aquifers, a
painstaking process that started this year and will take several more
months to complete.

Farmers scoffed at the idea their vegetables - a key part of the much-touted healthy Mediterranean diet - would be bad to eat.

"I
eat them, my sons eat them and my grandchildren eat them," said
Domenico Della Corte, holding up a cauliflower as big as a bridal
bouquet.

Meanwhile,
Naples anti-mafia prosecutor Conzo speaks of another fear: The mob may
be poised to cash in on the massive cleanup - using its time-tested
expertise at muscling in on public contracts.

More From You

hsena 13 hours ago
this again shows the law can't stop anything. italy's law is no better then a third world countryReplyFlag as AbusivePermalink -1 rate uprate down

John Billingsley 14 hours ago
I would thank with the Mafia doing the polluting, it would be body parts and bad spaghetti.ReplyFlag as AbusivePermalink -1 rate uprate down

Wendy 14 hours ago
This is so tragic! The poor population down
there. Now comes the hard job of requiring, by law, for the Mafioso,
and the Factories to do the proper clean up! Such a shame!!ReplyFlag as AbusivePermalinkrate uprate down

carc206 14 hours ago
Those northern Italian factories should be
the ones to pay for the clean up of the affected areas because it is
their "toxic waste" that is causing the problem.ReplyFlag as AbusivePermalink +1 rate uprate down

ashlivesjk 15 hours ago
Why don't those 10's of thousands march on the mafia, and the rich companies that are producing the other things they want.? Oh and the writer misspelled toluene :PReplyFlag as AbusivePermalinkrate uprate down

babyicant 16 hours ago
Poisoned Land in Naples by the mafia? I
doubt it. Sure they run the garbage removal but why **** where they
eat? No its not them. I think its more Eminent Domain Italian Style.
It clearly states in the article...."""".Dozens of fields in the area
were sequestered by police, prohibiting any one from harvesting or even
setting foot on the plot."""""" That is how Governments do it.ReplyFlag as AbusivePermalinkrate uprate down

bigfile4 16 hours ago
That's the problem with parasites. They suck the host organism dry and eventually kill it.ReplyFlag as AbusivePermalinkrate uprate down

Raleigh, N.C. — The
State Board of Elections on Friday removed a member of the Beaufort
County Board of Elections for participating in partisan political
activities.
Delma Blinson, who was appointed to the Beaufort board
this summer, participated in a local tea party meeting in October.

During that meeting, Blinson made a motion that passed to endorse Greg
Brannon, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

The state board
sets major policy for state elections and oversees the operations of
local boards. Local boards have the job of actually running elections.
This summer, state board leaders warned new members of local boards that
they must abstain from political activity in order to preserve their
objectivity.

"You were on notice that we were going to aggressively enforce this statute," said Josh Howard, chairman of the state board.

Blinson
acknowledged that he had participated in the tea party meeting, but he
said he did not think it violated the law, which prohibits "public"
displays of political opinion.

"I would say anyone in public office ... has a right to private conversations," he said.

But
board members pointed out that the tea party meeting time and location
was advertised to the public. The activity at the meeting -- making an
endorsement -- was a process in which one's political opinions are made
known.

"If 20 people at a political rally isn't public, what is?" Howard asked.

The board voted 5-0 to remove Blinson and asked the local Republican Party to recommend a replacement.

A tea party candidate whose role model was an unrepentant
segregationist and has spoken to a group that supports Southern
secession said he’s eager to join the U.S. Senate’s “wacko bird caucus,” and he’s got some big-name supporters.
Republican Greg Brannon said he moved to North Carolina due to his admiration for the late Sen. Jesse Helms, and he vowed to emulate the obstructionist conservative if he can unseat Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan next year.
During his time in public office, Helms fought against interracial
marriage, held up disability rights legislation and funding for HIV
prevention, opposed a bill establishing a national holiday for Martin
Luther King Jr. and never renounced his support for racial segregation.
Brannon, who calls the late senator a “modern hero,” is the
first non-incumbent 2014 candidate endorsed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY),
and he has also picked up endorsements from Red State editor Erick
Erickson and conservative provocateur Ann Coulter.
Despite the high-profile plaudits, Brannon faces long odds in the GOP
primary, where he’ll face four candidates, including North Carolina
Speaker of the House Thom Tillis – although a recent survey conducted by
Public Policy Polling found he was the only Republican candidate who
beat Hagan in head-to-head matchups.
If he makes it that far, Brannon would fit right in with the Senate’s tea party-backed “wacko birds,” Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-UT).
The extremely conservative Brannon opposes public education, which he
says is Marxist and dehumanizes students, and doesn’t believe states
must follow Supreme Court decisions.
Brannon cosponsored and spoke at a rally in October supporting
nullification – the idea that states can invalidate any federal laws
they wish – that was also sponsored by the secessionist League of the
South group that is seeking “a free and independent Southern republic.”
The group complains on its website
that the federal government has since 1861 – the start of the Civil War
— attempted to strip states of their individual sovereignty and
compromised individual religious expression and freedom of association.
“We envision the States peacefully and lawfully exercising
their Right of self-determination and withdrawing from the present union
dominated by an aggressive, centralized federal government; only then
can a true constitutional republic, founded upon the Bible and the
original constitution, once again exist in America,” the group states
among its goals.
Brannon, an obstetrician and gynecologist who refuses to advise his
patients on contraception or abortions, said the Supreme Court has
claimed powers it doesn’t have.
“Just because nine people in black robes, seven of them voted that
abortion is in the Constitution, it does not make that law,” Brannon
said.
He advised state Rep. Paul Stam on anti-abortion legislation in 2011
that requires women to wait 24 hours for elective abortions after their
first visit to an abortion provider and mandates sonograms of the fetus
even if not medically necessary.
Brannon said he favored a version of the bill that would have
required abortion providers to give women printed materials that claimed
“the life of each human being begins at conception,” and he also wanted
patients to be told that abortion is linked to breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and the
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have dismissed the
possibility of a link between breast cancer and abortion.
The bill was eventually passed, but without the provision warning of a link to breast cancer.
Brannon serves as medical director for Hand of Hope, a nonprofit
organization that operates several crisis pregnancy centers in North
Carolina, and he recently described the clinics’ patients as “little
girls” who don’t understand their own bodies.
“When I see little girls that come here, boyfriends that do show up
are my favorites,” Brannon said. “Then I can whoop on them with love.
How many people have we got married over the last 20 years just by
riding that boy’s rear end?”
The organization’s website makes false claims that morning-after
emergency contraceptive pills cause abortions and discourages their use.
Brannon has raised just $250,000, mostly from individuals, and less
than one-third what Tillis has raised – and that’s not including the
quarter million dollars that the North Carolina House Speaker had loaned
himself.
But the tea party conservative claims that he’s building a diverse coalition that will deliver him to the U.S. Senate.
“We’re getting African Americans, Hispanics, women,” Brannon said. “We’re building this coalition of many.”

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / Dec 20 2013

Democratic super PAC boosts Kay Hagan, targets Thom Tillis

A super PAC aligned with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid is attacking Republican Thom Tillis in a new TV ad – and Tillis is
making the most of it.
The Senate Majority PAC is spending
$750,000 on a 30-second spot defending Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan on the
federal health care while attacking Tillis, one of five announced GOP
candidates for her seat. (See the ad below.) The ad will run statewide
for two weeks, PAC officials said.
The PAC is run by former
staffers of the Nevada senator. It's the second pro-Hagan ad they've run
in North Carolina, spending near $400,000 in November.
In the new
ad, they defend Hagan's support of the Affordable Care Act, without
ever referring to the act or its commonly known name, Obamacare.
Instead, they tout her support of legislation that "forced insurance
companies to cover cancer and other pre-existing conditions."
Tillis, it says, "sides with insurance companies." It’s a reference to Tillis’ opposition to the health care law.
Tillis’
campaign put a message on Twitter saying: "It is a badge of honor to be
attacked by Harry Reid -- I'll work night and day to beat Kay Hagan and
overthrow Reid's majority."
The ad is also an acknowledgment that
Tillis is the front-runner in the GOP primary and the one Democrats
think will win in May. And the big dollar buy recognizes that Hagan’s
poll numbers are sinking amid the botched federal health care law roll
out.
Tillis is using the new ad to raise money – just as Hagan did
when outside groups spend similarly huge sums earlier this year to
attack her.
"Clearly, North Carolina is ground zero in the effort
to get rid of the liberal Reid majority that is keeping Obamacare in
place and keeping our country on a path to fiscal disaster," he wrote in
an email to supporters.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

The story behind "that selfie" -- a testy clash of cultures. Never the twain shall meet (I don't think.)

US
President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron pose for
a picture with Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt next to
US First Lady Michelle Obama during the memorial service for South
African former president Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg. (AFP Photo /
Roberto Schmidt)

So here’s the photo, my photo, which quickly lit up the world’s
social networks and news websites. The “selfie” of three world leaders
who, during South Africa’s farewell to Nelson Mandela, were messing
about like kids instead of behaving with the mournful gravitas one might
expect.
In general on this blog, photojournalists tell the story behind a
picture they’ve taken. I’ve done this for images from Pakistan, and
India, where I am based. And here I am again, but this time the picture
comes from a stadium in Soweto, and shows people taking a photo of
themselves. I guess it’s a sign of our times that somehow this image
seemed to get more attention than the event itself. Go figure.

Anyway, I arrived in South Africa with several other AFP journalists
to cover the farewell and funeral ceremonies for Nelson Mandela. We were
in the Soccer City stadium in Soweto, under a driving rain. I’d been
there since the crack of dawn and when I took this picture, the memorial
ceremony had already been going on for more than two hours.
From the podium, Obama had just qualified Mandela as a “giant of
history who moved a nation towards justice." After his stirring eulogy,
America’s first black president sat about 150 metres across from where I
was set up. He was surrounded by other foreign dignitaries and I
decided to follow his movements with the help of my 600 mm x 2 telephoto
lens.
So Obama took his place amid these leaders who’d gathered from all
corners of the globe. Among them was British Prime Minister David
Cameron, as well as a woman who I wasn’t able to immediately identify. I
later learned it was the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt.
I’m a German-Colombian based in India, so I don’t feel too bad I didn’t
recognize her! At the time, I thought it must have been one of Obama’s
many staffers.
Anyway, suddenly this woman pulled out her mobile phone and took a
photo of herself smiling with Cameron and the US president. I captured
the scene reflexively. All around me in the stadium, South Africans were
dancing, singing and laughing to honour their departed leader. It was
more like a carnival atmosphere, not at all morbid. The ceremony had
already gone on for two hours and would last another two. The atmosphere
was totally relaxed – I didn’t see anything shocking in my viewfinder,
president of the US or not. We are in Africa.

Note from Verne:

The man who took that picture, and others, is Roberto Schmidt of AFP Photo. You've see Schmidt's photos, and heard something about the big shemozzle that has erupted as a result.

I have my own thoughts about it all -- when have I not? So I felt compelled, despite possible vehement objections, to have a go at it myself.

Somehow it seemed to me to be provocative to feature just one of the frames extraordinaire, with a gaggle of comments they elicited. I think this is funny, and edifying:

How to alienate and irritate Africans: "The atmosphere was
totally relaxed – I didn’t see anything shocking in my viewfinder,
president of the US or not. We are in Africa."
Whatever do you mean? Nothing like some subliminal racism thrown in to
give 'context' to your story. Totally unnecessary and offensive.

Thanks so much for your important work, and for this context.
The absurd obsession with the superficial = "please distract us from
pondering the meaning of Mandela to our own lives and to those who
represent and govern us."
Thanks again.

Well said. I think Madiba would be laughing if he saw the
image! He was a very relaxed and down to earth person. This hullabaloo
about the selfie is mis-directed attention. In my opinion its only
fitting that dignitaries of this caliber felt relaxed enough to take a
selfie at Madiba's memorial.

Thank you for giving the context! "All around me in the
stadium, South Africans were dancing, singing and laughing to honour
their departed leader. It was more like a carnival atmosphere, not at
all morbid." Which is exactly why they felt they could also relax!

Fantastic photo - 1 in a billion. I have been defending that
photo for the whole day. And I love the story behind it, that I just
read! I think it is great and I think Mr. Mandela would have loved that
picture! Black/white, woman/man - all equal, having fun and a great
laugh. That is the kind of leaders I want to rule the world and NOT some
angry old white men, hiding in a dark room! GREAT lets have some more
REAL people and not stressed out politicians!

I was totally with you, until the offensive "We are in Africa."
What do you mean by "We are in Africa"? Do you even realize what you
just wrote? Ways to insult a whole continent!!! I totally lost respect
for you. Yet I am almost sure that you lack the intellectual
sophistication to comprehend the offensive nature of that statement.
This is so pathetic.

They are representatives of their countries, representatives of a people, of millions. There is a protocol - respect and dignity - when we go to the last farewell of a man. Especially when this man was huge. The selfie shows a normal attitude at the wrong time.The press is correct in questioning this attitude.

@OrangeMan and @Ayo: "We are in Africa" is not an insult.
Mr. Schmidt was explaining the context of the memorial service. As he
said, it was a four hour celebration with jubilant crowds, music, and
dancing.
No one would memorialize a national leader that way in the US, UK, or
Denmark, where the custom is to be somber and quiet during memorial
services. But this celebration was not held in the US, UK, or Denmark.
It was held in Africa, and South Africans are entitled to memorialize
Mr. Mandela as they believe he would want to be remembered.
Anyone attending should NOT be judged though the lens of a somber
Western memorial service. This was not that kind of service. This was a
celebration, a celebration that was proudly and unapologetically [South]
African.

when i saw the picture i thought Michelle Obama looked pissed
because they were taking a selfie without her. Then I saw another
picture. This time Mr Obama was kissing her hand, and it really looked
like he was apologizing for taking that selfie without her. LOL.

Anybody there complaining about "we are in Africa" being
racist: I don't see why! the context in which he puts the statement
clearly indicates that he wants to point out this is the way Africans
part from their beloved ones. I can't imagine people behaving that way
in America, Europe, Asia, Australia, although I may be wrong. But I fail
to see where he insults anybody. I think this is a great article!

Respect for the dead has nothing to do with this. The dead
communist Mandela deserves no more public decorum than the burnt corpse
of Goebbels. It's about the tastelessness of two middle age clowns in
positions of responsibility going ga-ga over a hottie, and one of them
in front of his wife. It might be Africa, but in America not to mention Britain, such
buffoonish behavior on such an occasion is deemed disrespectful and
juvenile. And Obama is after all American...isn't he?

Verne: So, the ballots are in -- a scattered few hanging chads, but aside from that natural deficiency, it's clear who's thinking what.

And what do I think? Well, I think that, if we can't agree on stuff like this, let's see what the U.N. can do with the issue. Check that. They haven't done anything with any issue. Looks like we're still stuck.

But I do think Obama showed disrespect for Mandela -- based on normal, acceptable behavior at a memorial service in America, Great Britain, or Denmark. Which is where I feel comfortable.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Isn't this pretty? Almost like art, what with all the nice shades of pink and rich blue punctuated with brilliant little green dots. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This vile junk is actually a hybrid strain of HIV-1 working its little butt off to turn into AIDS. It is now only in Africa, where almost all hurricanes are formed, and it is seen as a gift from the Dark Continent to the Americas. Thanks, black folk. We'll try to return the favor someday soon.

Researchers have discovered a new, more aggressive strain of the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that develops into AIDS much more
quickly than other strains, Medical News Today reported.

In a new study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases,
scientists detailed the new strain as a “recombinant” virus – a hybrid
of two virus strains. Called A3/02 – a cross between the 02AG and A3
viruses – the strain can develop into AIDS in just five years after
first infection – one of the shortest time periods for HIV-1 types.

"Recombinants seem to be more vigorous and more aggressive than the
strains from which they developed,” said first author Angelica Palm, a
doctoral candidate at Lund University in Sweden.

So far, the A3/02 strain has only been seen in Guinea-Bissau, West
Africa, but other studies have shown that recombinants are spreading
more quickly across the globe.

"HIV is an extremely dynamic and variable virus. New subtypes and
recombinant forms of HIV-1 have been introduced to our part of the
world, and it is highly likely that there are a large number of
circulating recombinants of which we know little or nothing,” said
senior author Patrik Medstran, professor of clinical virology at Lund
University. “We therefore need to be aware of how the HIV-1 epidemic
changes over time."

Verne Strickland / Blogmaster / Nov 25 2013

Nebraska Golf Card withdrew sponsorship because golfer “believes he has been forgiven for past indiscretions by a mystical power who lives in the clouds.”

An appreciation for Glenn Beck, Ted
Cruz and a well-known Bible verse appears to be the main reasons an
aspiring professional golfer was abruptly cut off from his main source
of income by his sponsor.

The golfer’s name is Jeff Cochran and
until a few weeks ago, it appeared that he may have finally gotten the
big break that would help him achieve his goal of having a shot to play
on golf’s elite PGA tour.

Cochran claims he was contracted in January by
Virginia-based businessman Brian McMahon to help promote Nebraska Golf
Card (NGC), a budding promotional operation that says it’s “designed to
give golfers reduced rates and access to private clubs.”

Author’s note: Golf Card International is not affiliated with Nebraska Golf Card.

After playing most of the year for
Nebraska Golf Card, Cochran alleged his sponsorship was abruptly
terminated. The initial reason given seemed quite surprising — his
support for Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz; Cruz’s father, Raphael; and
Glenn Beck — but faith, and specifically a Bible verse, also played a
big part in the termination of the contract.

The verse in question? Philippians 4:13, which reads, ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

This is how Jeff Cochran’s favorite Bible verse appears on all of his golf bags.

In late October, Cochran, his agent
David Reynolds and NGC’s Brian McMahon both claim they were at a dinner
and the conversation turned to Cruz. Cochran says he praised Cruz and
his father, Raphael, mentioning that he had seen the elder Cruz on an
episode of “The Glenn Beck Program.”

Cochran told TheBlaze that his sponsor
was taken aback by this statement and was also troubled by the fact that
his business associate was a fan of Beck. Following his pro-Cruz
statement, Cochran said McMahon asked him, ”Would you be willing to give
up our support to stand with that wackjob (Beck)?” Cochran answered
“yes” and said the dinner continued without any additional tension or
drama.

But the next morning, Cochran’s agent
said, he received an email from NGC announcing that it was pulling all
financial and product support from Cochran.

Image source: David Reynolds

The email, a copy of which was
provided to TheBlaze, demanded immediate return of all equipment and
that Cochran stop using their logo as well. The initial email from
McMahon to Cochran’s agent was quite specific as to the reason for the
split (emphasis added):

David, I have never had an
issue with you or really Jeff for that matter, but this situation is
very disturbing. I have been tolerant of his religious views and even
supported his off course speaking. However, I just can’t allow my
company to be associated with these radical political views. The
idea that Jeff would line up with the likes of Glenn Beck or Ted Cruz
or any other individual interested in destroying America, just isn’t
something I can swallow.

Cochran and Reynolds said they
immediately complied with the demand and returned the equipment, they
told TheBlaze. That quick response triggered the email thank-you from
McMahon shown below, but that note also contained a few parting shots
(emphasis added).

“I looked up the verse Jeff put on the bag and had to laugh,” the email said. ”How can someone so smart be so gullible?
The idea of trusting or believing that someone has control over your
future is the definition of insanity. I will continue to trust people
I’ve actually met and trust to help chart my course.”

Image source: David Reynolds

McMahon’s email continued (emphasis added): “Tell Jeff if he ever decides to relinquish these childish and uneducated views, we might be willing to renew our relationship.” He ended the email, “In me I trust, Brian.”

It was shortly after the second email was sent that Cochran and his agent reached out to TheBlaze.

“Believes he has been forgiven for past indiscretions by a mystical power who lives in the clouds.”

Share:

TheBlaze was in the process of
investigating the story, exchanging emails with Cochran and his agent
and establishing a timeline of the events, when we received an
unsolicited email from McMahon of NGC (from the same email address that
sent the emails to Cochran’s address).

McMahon did not mince his words and
almost immediately attacked TheBlaze, writing, “I spent a little time on
your website this morning and you should be ashamed of what you’ve
created.”

He didn’t hold back, mocking Cochran
for listening to Beck: “Jeff is the perfect target for someone like
Beck. He believes he has been forgiven for past indiscretions by a
mystical power who lives in the clouds, so why wouldn’t he be gullible
(sic) enough for the Tea Baggers.”

The email closed with a particularly angry and personal attack on Beck (emphasis added): “He is a lousy drunk who should be led to the nearest border, given a big toss and told to never return. And if he hates the government as much as he says, that should be a welcome event for him too.”

Friday, November 15, 2013

Christianity
is at risk of extinction in some parts of the world due to growing
persecution of minority communities, a Muslim minister has warned.
Baroness
Warsi said Christians were in danger of being driven out of countries,
such as Syria and Iraq, where the religion first took root.

Syria's civil war and the instability in Iraq has seen many leave.
Baroness Warsi said politicians had a duty to speak out against persecution and appeal for religious tolerance.

In
a speech at Georgetown University in Washington DC, the foreign officer
minister - who also has responsibility for faith communities - said one
in ten Christians were living in countries where they were in a
minority.

Full title The Rt Hon. the Baroness Warsi

Name Sayeeda Warsi

Party/group Conservative, British Parliament

'Seen as other'

She told that the BBC that in some
cases, Christians were being targeted for "collective punishment" by
majority groups in retaliation for what they perceive as the injustices
committed by Western powers.

"I am concerned that the birthplace of
Christianity, those parts of the world where Christianity first spread, is
now seeing large sections of the Christian community leaving and those
that are remaining feeling persecuted," she told Radio 4's 'Today'.

"Tragically,
what's happening is they are being seen as newcomers, being portrayed
as an 'other' within that society, even though they have existed there
for many, many centuries," she said.

The Conservative peer said Christians were seen as "legitimate targets" over the perceived actions of their co-religionists.

"This concept of collective punishment and them being seen as agents of the West or agents of regimes is wrong," she added.

"We need to speak out and raise this with the countries where this is happening."
Religious
pluralism made countries stronger in a whole variety of ways, she said,
from broadening the range of educational opportunities to injecting
economic dynamism.

'Political will'

Baroness Warsi, who was
Britain's first female Muslim cabinet minister said she had already had
"very frank conversations" with ministers in Pakistan, telling them
senior politicians must set a standard for tolerance.

"Politicians do have a responsibility to set the tone, to mark out legal parameters as to what will and will not be tolerated."

She
added: "There's an international consensus, in the form of a Human
Rights Council resolution on the treatment of minorities and tolerance
towards other faiths. But we need to build political will behind that.

"Of
course there have been moments when religious communities have been in
conflict, but there have also been great moments of co-existence between
faiths. There isn't an intrinsic clash between different faiths."

The minister has previously warned about the dangers of "militant secularisation" in the UK.

The
leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales said he agreed that
the very existence of Christianity was under threat in some parts of the
Middle East.
"There are real challenges for Christians in this
part of the world to support and get alongside them and also for
politicians to understand that the presence of Christians is a great
mediating factor, often for example between different segments of
Islam," the Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols told 'Today'.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Verne Strickland / Blogmaster / Nov 13 2013

Democrats want
to keep young Black, and poor White, Children trapped in failing
Government/Public schools. They oppose School Choice programs that would
allow young Blacks, and poor Whites, from getting better educations.
Democrats keep lying how they are all about “Choice” until it comes to
actually giving you any real Choices.

When will the Black Community tell the Democrats to STOP insulting them? When will they recognize the Democrat Party lies?

Four Points…

1. ABORTION
Democrats want large numbers of Abortions within the Black Community
as a means of suppression and control. Democrats always proclaim that
they want CHOICE but Abortion to be SAFE AND RARE. Democrats claim
Republicans want to make Abortion illegal. Let’s examine these LIES.
Republicans controlled the House, the Senate, and the Presidency
under George W. Bush – did they at any time attempt to make Abortion
illegal? NO. Did they at any time attempt to infringe on Abortion
Rights? NO! Republicans control the House, Senate, and Governorship of
several States – have they, in any of them, moved to make Abortion
illegal? Again, NO!
Democrats want Abortion to be SAFE AND RARE. Texas, and other States,
demonstrates that LIE! Texas has moved to make Abortions SAFE, and to
protect Women’s Health, by requiring Abortionists to have admitting
privileges/rights at a local Hospital. Have they attempted to make
Abortions illegal? NO! Democrats have fought these Common Sense
PROTECTIONS FOR WOMEN and want Abortion to be available ANYWHERE AT ANY
TIME by anyone with a Coat-hanger to perform them.

2. EDUCATION / AFFIRMATIVE ACTION / SCHOOL CHOICE
Democrats continually tell the Black Community that their children
are inferior and just too stupid to make it on their own. They insist
you need Democrats and their Affirmative Action policies. Democrats want
to keep young Black, and poor White, Children trapped in failing
Government/Public schools. They oppose School Choice programs that would
allow young Blacks, and poor Whites, from getting better educations.
Democrats keep lying how they are all about “Choice” until it comes to
actually giving you any real Choices.
Republicans wish to do something about the continued decline of
Education in America. Democrats want to continue to dumb down everyone,
generation by generation.

3. VOTER ID
How many times are people going to continue to allow Democrats to call the Black Community STUPID AND LAZY?
Democrats say they have to oppose Voter Id because Blacks are (too
stupid and/or lazy and) incapable of getting a Free Id. Republicans
treat you with the dignity and respect to know that most Blacks already
have Ids and that others are more than intelligent enough and capable of
obtaining them and that Programs can, could, and should be created by
non-profit “Get Out The Vote” Groups to assist the poor and/or anyone
else that does not already have one and get them to a DMV office for
their FREE ID.

4. 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS
Democrats are for Gun Control in the Urban Communities and keeping
Blacks from being able to protect themselves in their own homes.
Democrats want you to continue to be victims of Crime while they
continue to be, and appoint Judges who are, soft on Criminals.
The Democrats LIE. Republicans and TEA Party members are constantly
being accused of being Racist just for opposing bad policies of Barack
Obama that has disproportionally effected the Black Community – higher
unemployment, more people becoming poor not less, etc. It’s time to ask
yourself, given the FACTS and positions of the Parties – Who are the
real Racists?!?!?! Republicans focus on POLICIES and EQUALITY while
Democrats obsess over Obama’s Race. Republicans insist Obama be treated
EQUAL to other Presidents, while Democrats insist that because he is
Black he must be treated differently — THAT IS RACIST!

When will the DENIAL end?
See related: Liberals’ Religion is Government – their motto:
Separation FROM Church TO State – at:
http://rattlewithus.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lib-religion